Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Gossip Girl (and Boy)

The self proclaimed Queen of Media, Perez Hilton, may be the most well-known celeb gossip blogger on the net. The fact that he is Cuban-American is not surprising. We Latinos love gossip! Love it!

A quick Google search for "farandula" (gossip) resulted in 912,000 different sites dedicated to the subject. "Chisme" is another word that means gossip, and that term generated 1,090,000 hits. (The fact that we have more than one word that means gossip should be a tip-off.) All the Spanish-language portals have a significant number of pages dedicated to the subject. People en Espanol's site attracts a pretty large audience daily seeking the latest on Salma Hayek's French wedding or Jessica Alba's latest denial of her Hispanic heritage.

Following celebrities for Latinos is like a cultish religion. The most popular programs on Univision and Telemundo, the most trafficked sites online and the highest circulation magazines are all dedicated to this subject.

With so much interest in this "escapist" content - marketers need to figure out more creative ways of tying into this world. While many advertisers shy away from tabloids in the general market, in the Hispanic market - you're aversion is a missed opportunity to connect during a seriously guilty pleasure.

1 comment:

Totally agree - there is great opportunity for infusing advertisers during "chisme"-time. Great for brands that have developed a fun, playful dialog with their consumers. A 'too serious' tone is a no-no.

Mission

The multicultural population in America is shaping its future and our collective success depends on two things: technology and people. No one doubts the power that technology possesses to transform our world. Yet we still do not fully comprehend how multicultural consumers use technology. The digital divide is not the distance between minorities and technology. It's a matter of debunking the myths that persist.

Contributor

John-Paul Aguirre is a communications planning specialist with expertise in multicultural and international marketing. JP is VP, Communications Planning Director at Universal McCann. He completes his Masters in Strategic Communication at Columbia University in May 2010. He has a strong interest in diversity and technology, so this blog is about marrying those two passions.